Glossary

Number of glossary terms: 66

Abstract : Describes something that is defined in terms of what it should do, not how it does it; in OOP often means a member or class that cannot be used directly and must be implemented or inherited.

Abstract class : A class that cannot be instantiated directly and is meant to be inherited by other classes.

Abstraction : Focusing on the essential characteristics of an object while hiding unnecessary implementation details.

All-args constructor : A constructor that takes arguments for all (or almost all) fields of a class so an object can be fully initialized in a single call.

Attribute : A piece of data that belongs to a class or object, also called a field or property depending on the context.

Base class : A class whose members are inherited by one or more derived classes.

Boxing : Converting a value type into an object so it can be treated as a reference type.

camelCase : A naming convention where the first word is lowercase and each subsequent word starts with an uppercase letter (e.g. firstName). In C#, commonly used for local variables and parameters.

Casting : Converting a value from one type to another compatible type.

Class : A blueprint for creating objects.

Composition : A relationship where one class contains another class as part of its state.

Const : A keyword for defining a compile-time constant value that cannot change, unlike a readonly field which is assigned once at runtime.

Constant : A value that cannot change after it has been defined.

Constructor : A special method that is called when an object is created.

Constructor chaining : Calling one constructor from another constructor in the same class to reuse initialization logic.

DAO : Stands for Data Access Object; a class or component that provides an abstract interface for reading and writing data to a database or other storage.

Data Access Object : A pattern where database operations are encapsulated in a dedicated class or set of classes, separating persistence logic from business logic.

Datatype : Another word for type; often used to refer to built-in or primitive types like numbers, text, and booleans.

DBMS : A Database Management System, software used to store, manage, and query databases.

Declare : To introduce a variable, method, class, or other symbol to the program so the compiler knows its name and type, often without fully defining its behavior yet.

Default constructor : A constructor with no parameters that creates an object with default values; in many languages it is provided automatically when no other constructors are defined.

Derived class : A class that inherits from a base class and extends or overrides its behavior.

Dynamic binding : Resolving which method implementation to call at runtime based on the actual object type.

Encapsulation : Bundling data and behavior together and controlling access to internal details.

Entity : An object that represents a meaningful item in a domain, often with its own identity.

Exception : An error condition that interrupts the normal flow of a program.

Field : A variable declared inside a class to store the state of an object.

Foreign key : A field (or combination of fields) in a table that references the primary key of another table, establishing a relationship between the two tables.

Generic list : A list type that takes a type parameter (for example List<Shape>), allowing you to store a strongly typed collection without casting or boxing.

Getter : A member that returns the value of a field or property.

Inheritance : A mechanism where one class derives from another class and reuses or extends its behavior.

Instance : A concrete object created from a class.

Instantiate : To create an object from a class.

Interface : A contract that defines which members a class must implement.

Method : A function that belongs to a class or object.

Namespace : A container (such as a C# namespace or a package) used to group related types and avoid name conflicts.

Non-static : Belonging to a specific object instance instead of to the class itself.

NuGet package : A reusable library distributed through NuGet that can be added to a .NET project.

Object : An instance of a class.

Overloading : Defining multiple methods with the same name but different parameter lists.

Override : Providing a new implementation of an inherited virtual or abstract method in a derived class.

PascalCase : A naming convention where every word starts with an uppercase letter (e.g. FirstName). In C#, used for types, methods, properties, and other public members.

Polymorphism : The ability to treat different derived objects through a common base type.

Primary key : A field or combination of fields that uniquely identifies a record in a database table.

Primitive type : A basic built-in type such as int, double, bool, or char.

private : A C# access modifier that restricts access to the containing type only; members are not visible to other types.

Property : A member that provides controlled access to a value, often wrapping a private field.

protected : A C# access modifier that restricts access to the containing type and types that inherit from it; members are not visible to unrelated types.

public : A C# access modifier that allows access from any code; the member is visible to all callers.

Query : A request for data or for an operation on data, often written in SQL when working with databases.

Reference variable : A variable that stores a reference to an object instead of storing the object's data directly.

Setter : A member that changes the value of a field or property.

Signature : The part of a method definition that identifies it, such as its name and parameter types.

SQL : Structured Query Language; a language used to define, query, and manipulate data in relational databases.

SQL injection : A security vulnerability where malicious SQL is inserted into input and executed by a database query.

Static : Belonging to the class itself instead of to a specific object instance.

Static member : A member that belongs to the class itself instead of to individual objects.

Subclass : Another word for a derived class; a class that inherits from a base class.

ToString : A method that returns a string representation of an object.

Type : A classification that describes what kind of values a variable can hold and what operations are valid on those values, such as int, string, or a custom class.

Type checking : Determining whether a value or object is of a particular type.

UML : Unified Modeling Language, a visual notation used to describe the structure and relationships of classes.

Unboxing : Extracting a value type from an object that was previously boxed.

Value type : A type that stores its actual data directly, such as int, double, or bool.

Virtual method : A method in a base class that can be overridden in a derived class.

Visibility modifier : A keyword that controls where a class or member can be accessed (for example public, private, or protected).